


Merry & Bright

by drugsandcaandy



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, well. technically canon compliant but also can be read as non canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27855026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drugsandcaandy/pseuds/drugsandcaandy
Summary: Dani loves Christmas and Jamie tolerates it but loves to indulge her every whim, so come December their apartment turns into the North Pole.Shameless, toothrotting Christmas fluff. They decorate for Christmas and are very in love. That's it.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 9
Kudos: 79





	Merry & Bright

**Author's Note:**

> It isn't really clear when this takes place, but I was thinking roughly mid-90s. There aren't any mentions of Viola or Bly so I guess it's technically not canon compliant, but it's also not-not canon compliant. Also, I realize that they didn't end up staying in England, but I wanted them to, and this is my fic, so they did. Mostly I just want them to be happy and alive and in love. We all need some fluff right now.

The bell jingles as Dani walks into the shop. She shuts the door with her hip, balancing her shopping bags and umbrella precariously.

"It's a madhouse out there," she says, dumping everything on the counters. "You'd think Christmas was tomorrow, not, like, two weeks away."

"Had to fight someone off for the holly, did you?" Jamie grins and takes the last of the bags off of Dani's arms. 

"Don't laugh! A little old lady almost trampled me! I thought I was going to die." Dani sticks out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. 

Jamie swoops down and kisses her nose. "You're so dramatic," she chastises, but it sounds more like a compliment than an insult. Dani presses a kiss to her wife's lips, reveling in the warmth from Jamie's body. She'll never get used to English winters, even after more than a decade of them. She'd take snow over rain any day. 

"Not out here," Jamie protests, "Someone could see."

"Guess we'll have to go upstairs, then." Dani flips the sign to _closed_. "It's almost seven anyway. We can close a little early."

"Holiday hours," Jamie says with a shrug, and flips off the lights.

They haul the bags upstairs to their apartment. Jamie unlocks the door and Dani gasps.

"You didn't! How did you have time?" Dani stares at the tree, already set up and ready to be decorated.

"I got Sarah to cover while you were out shopping. We've had a slow day." Jamie wraps her arms around Dani's neck and pulls her in for a kiss. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Dani says. "I think we should decorate tonight."

"One step ahead of you, love," Jamie replies, gesturing to the cardboard boxes marked _Christmas_ in Sharpie. "Dragged these out of storage, too. There may be an entire colony of spiders in one of them, but I'll fight them off for you."

"My hero." Dani flips on the radio, searching for a station playing Christmas music. She settles on one playing _Santa Baby._ Jamie's unloading the bags, piling things on their sofa, and Dani stops to watch her for a minute. She's rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan and taken off her shoes, her guard down for the day. It's the moments like this Dani savors. She's the only one who gets to see Jamie like this, comfortable in the home they've built together. It's an honor, really. 

But she's not about to let her wife do all the work. She kicks off her shoes and heads to help Jamie. They've built up quite the collection of decorations over the years- Dani loves Christmas and Jamie tolerates it but loves to indulge her every whim, so come December their apartment turns into the North Pole. 

"Look what I got," Dani sings, holding up a bundle of mistletoe. Jamie groans. Dani grabs a piece of tape and hangs it in the doorway between their living room and kitchen, a place she knows full well they both walk by at least twenty times a day. Which is, of course, exactly why she wants it there.

"Quit standing under it and help me get these lights 'round the tree," Jamie calls. "I'll kiss you as much as you want later, but I'm a woman on a mission and I can't do this alone."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Dani pulls off her sweater and rolls up her sleeves. "But I'm counting the kisses. You owe me."

"As many as you want," Jamie repeats. 

Aside from a few minor incidents with pine needles in Dani's hair, the lights go up without a hitch. Jamie hums along to the radio as they decorate. It's nothing new at this point, but Dani will never get tired holidays with Jamie. She never knew what home felt like until her. She never thought she'd have something so wonderful. 

"Do you want something to drink?" Jamie asks. "I can make cocoa. Really set the mood."

"I love you. So much." Dani knows Christmas isn't really Jamie's thing, but she always tries to make it special for Dani, and Dani will forever be in awe of it.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Jamie plucks two candy canes from the tree and holds them out of Dani's reach. 

"What are you doing with those?" Dani asks. She had the tree perfectly symmetrical, and now it's off.

"Peppermint cocoa, baby!" Jamie laughs at Dani's attempts to grab them. "Just move some ornaments, you'll be fine."

"That does sound good," Dani admits. 

By the time Jamie returns, a mug in each hand, Dani's pretty sure the tree is done. "What do you think?" she asks, surveying it with her hands on her hips.

"I think it looks beautiful. Like you." Jamie sets the mugs down and gestures to the sofa. "Come sit with me, yeah?"

Dani curls up against Jamie. Jamie puts an arm around her, pulling her closer. It's times like these where everything feels safe and quiet and Dani can bask in the love and security and the home they've built together and everything seems right with the world. 

Jamie tucks a lock of hair behind Dani's ear and presses a kiss to her forehead. "What're you thinking about, love? You seem a million miles away."

"Just how much I love you, and how happy I am to be with you." Dani leans up to kiss Jamie back. "We built ourselves a pretty good life, didn't we?"

"Quite an understatement. But yes, we did. I'm proud of us." 

"So am I. Also, you owe me something, don't you?"

"Thought you'd forgotten." Jamie pulls Dani in for a slow, deep kiss, her mouth soft and familiar. She tastes like peppermint, no doubt from the candy canes, and it may be Dani's new favorite flavor. She smells like safety and home. She always has.

They sit like that for a long time, curled up on the sofa, Dani's head on Jamie's chest, under the glow of Christmas lights. Dani couldn't wish for anything better.


End file.
